Friday, October 30, 2015

IMPORTANT!

I think this week seemed to run a little smoother doing 2 games to 21 (hard cap). The early pool was about 7 minutes behind between team swap, however they were only about 4 minutes behind for total end time so not bad at all. The second pool seemed to run pretty equally as well, it was a bit tight near the end, but we all managed to finish by 945pm.

Thank you again to everyone for helping set up/pack up in a timely and efficient manner, and for showing up early and getting their warm ups in!

I bought two new Molten Balls, which got used this week and from here on will be our official "game balls". They are currently the official NCAA ball which is why I chose them. I know for some, they are a bit unusual, and will take some getting used to, but I'm confident that in no time people will be more and more comfortable with them! They really are a great ball!

IMPORTANT~ Future scheduling to consider:
I know it's a bit early to be planning so far in advance, but I want to try to get next season somewhat coordinated before everyone goes off for holidays.

I've heard that for some playing until the end of the school year is unlikely due to various conflicting commitments. That being said, could the team captains let me know ASAP (text or email) how late into 2016 their team is willing to play (end of February, March, April, May, June?). If most teams are only willing to play until say March or so, I will consider continuing to use the space to run a R4s league or a co-ed 6s league for the last couple months.

Look forward to hearing from you!
Thanks again!
-Linds

Monday, October 26, 2015

Week 3: October 29, 2015

Week 3: October 29, 2015

Four teams will play from 7-815pm:
-Impact
-Eliminators
-I'd Hit That
-Pack Attack

 And four teams will play from 830-945pm:
-Big Kahuna
-Set for Life
-Ball Busters
-Sambuca


7-815pm
Court 1
Court 2



7-735pm
Impact vs. Eliminators
I’d Hit That vs. Pack Attack



740-815pm
Impact vs. I’d Hit That
Eliminators vs. Pack Attack






830-945pm
Court 1
Court 2



830-905pm
Big Kahuna vs. Set For Life
Ball Busters vs. Sambuca



910-945pm
Big Kahuna vs. Ball Busters
Set For Life vs. Sambuca



Thanks!
-Linds




Progress Report

After receiving some feedback over the past couple of weeks, I've decided for now we will continue this season in the following manner:

-Two pools: 7-815pm, and 830-945pm.

-Each team will play two teams from their pool, two sets to 21 (hard cap).

I understand some of you are still feeling rushed after the adjustment I made from week 1 to week 2, and others felt the improvement was sufficient. Please keep in mind I am making my decision in an attempt to build and maintain a strong relationship with the school, to give the players the most total points out of the game time, and to keep a competitive spirit in the teams you play each week.

Our time frame is from 7-950pm (not 10pm like I was originally told), meaning we have to be cleaned up, and cleared out by 950pm. If we go even 1 minute beyond the 950 time frame, it becomes an overtime issue with the custodial staff's Union (and that is not an area I am willing to get involved with). So regardless if you are the 1st or 2nd time slot, please continue to arrive early and get warmed up as quickly as possible.

I will do my best this week to not be so strict with "forcing games to start" before teams have had a chance to "regroup", however, keep in mind that if you let your warm ups or water breaks run too long into your play time, you may not make it through all the sets, and that will be reflected in total points and your win/loss ratio. 

This brings me to my next topic, the Standings. I have not yet posted them because I was still trying to decide how to line everyone up. So far my plan is to have two teams "move up or down" based on wins/losses/points from the previous week (I will do my best to accommodate specific requests for start times if need be), but overall timing will be based on play level.

I will be posting this weeks schedule shortly.

Thanks again!
-Linds



Monday, October 19, 2015

Week 2: Thursday, October 22, 2015

Check below for the schedule for week 2: October 22, 2015.

Four teams will play from 7-815pm:
-Sambuca
-Ball Busters
-Impact
-Pack Attack

And four teams will play from 830-945pm:
-Big Kahuna
-Set for Life
-Eliminators
-I'd Hit That




7-815pm
Court 1
Court 2




2 Sets to 25 (Cap 27)
7-735pm
Sambuca vs. Ball Busters
Impact vs. Pack Attack




2 Sets to 25 (Cap 27)
740-815pm
Sambuca vs. Impact
Ball Busters vs. Pack Attack









830-945pm
Court 1
Court 2




2 Sets to 25 (Cap 27)
830-905pm
Big Kahuna vs. Set For Life
Eliminators vs. I’d Hit That




2 Sets to 25 (Cap 27)
910-945pm
Big Kahuna vs. Eliminators
Set for Life vs. I’d Hit That







See you all Thursday!
-Linds

More Good News!

Hey Everyone,
Some great news to pass along to your teammates: We now have the gym starting at 7pm!

I know a lot of people were feeling quite rushed last week having only 1 game to 21 and playing three separate teams, but honestly with the limited time and space it was sort of the only thing that made sense to get the most variety.

Although we still only have the two courts to play on, having the extra hour should help improve the flow. This week we will continue to stick with two sessions (one starting at 7pm and one starting at 830pm), however each team will play two other teams, two games to 25 (cap 27) instead of just one game to 21.  Please keep in mind this is again going to be a bit of a "tester week" so I might still have to cut some games short due to time limit if need be.

The custodial staff has also requested that we be finished games, packed up, and out of the building by 10pm so I have planned to finish games by 945 (hopefully sooner), which should give us more than enough time to pack up.

Again, please make sure you arrive early to help set up nets and get warmed up, and also make sure you continue to help return the nets at the end of the night.

Thanks!
-Linds

Friday, October 16, 2015

A Successful First Week!

A big thank you to everyone for making this first week run smoothly! It was such a huge relief to have so many people organized and on top of their teams! For the most part everyone showed up on time and ready to go and at the end of the night the nets were put away quickly and neatly! THANK YOU!!

Some Housekeeping Items:
-Weekly news & updates will be posted on this webpage so be sure to check back every week (especially the schedule page).

-If there is some last minute news or emergency items to address I will either text or email team Captains and expect the captains to pass the messages along to their teammates (it's probably going to be a while before I input everyones email addresses into my account).


-Please make sure you submit your teams payment by next session (Pack Attack & Eliminators are still owing - either cash or cheques payable to Lindsay Watts).

-Remember any new person you bring out each week must sign and submit a waiver form to me (I will keep a few extra blank ones on hand just in case).

-Reffing is all "call your own." Please be honest! (Dirty sets, net touches, in/out, under the net). If there is any debate about a point that lasts longer than 10 seconds, it will be an automatic reserve.

-During the sessions my husband, Mark, will be helping me out with the misc. stuff that I may not be able to tend to since I do play in the league myself. Please make sure you are reporting your scores to him after every game, and don't hesitate to let him or myself know if there are any issues or suggestions, etc. that you may want discussed, we are all ears:)

The Flow:
Because this seasons is so short (only about 8-10 weeks) and we are just starting to get a feel for the gym space, janitors leniency, etc. I think for now we will stick with running as we did this week. There will be two time slots (8-9pm and 9-10pm), and we will each play 3 separate teams. However, I do think we can manage time for sets to 25 (hard cap) instead of 21. Keep in mind though, there will always be the 20 minute time limit, so if your court decides to warm up for an extra 5 minutes or so, you will still be expected to move on to your next game regardless if you finished or not.

Balls:
I will be purchasing two "game balls." If you have a preference please let me know. The options are:
-Molten VN 5000 (my fav)
-Mikasa MVA 200
-Tachikara Gold
-Baden Perfection
I had one of each at last nights session.

Future:
The athletic coordinator at ACSS has already offered that we can have gym space in January 2016 until the end of the school year (of course there might be a few exceptions for school functions, etc.) so I would love to get everyones input on ideas for next season.

-I anticipate we will make the cost to be around $240.00 per team instead since it will be a much longer season compared to this Fall one ($40 per player if you have a 6 player team).

-IF we can get longer gym time in January, i.e. 7-10pm, I would probably still do two session (7-830, and 830-10), but we would have time for at the very least playing two teams best of three sets.

-IF gym time remains only two hours (8-10), then I will consider maybe having teams play alternating weeks. That way four teams get the full two hours one week, and four teams get the full two hours the next week. - this one might just be a bit of a scheduling challenge on my end, but if this is peoples preference I would be willing to try it out.

That is all for now. I will post next weeks schedule soon.

Please continue to arrive early or on time as there is no real "set up/warm-up" time allotted and I want to continue to be able to start games on time so that people have the most "playing time."

Thanks again!
-Linds

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

A Few Things

Just thought I'd touch base regarding a couple items:

1. The original waiver link I posted does not seem to be working properly for most people. Sorry for any inconvenience. In the meantime please just go to the old webpage and download it from there, it's the same form. (https://www.eteamz.com/lwv/handouts/).

2. The waiver/emergency contact form has to be signed by every single person that is going to be playing in this gym. Even if you have submitted a waiver for previous seasons I still need a brand new form from all of you.

Hope that clears some things up!
-Linds


Monday, October 12, 2015

Thursday October 15, 2015

Here is this weeks schedule:

Four teams will play from 8-9pm:
-Big Kahuna
-Ball Busters
-Impact
-Set for Life

Four teams will play from 9-10pm
-Sambuca
-I'd Hit That
-No Name
-Eliminators


8pm-9pm Court 1 Court 2
8pm-820pm Big Kahuna vs. Ball Busters Impact vs. Set For Life
1 Set to 21 (Cap 21)
820pm-840pm Big Kahuna vs. Impact Ball Busters vs. Set For Life
1 Set to 21 (Cap 21)
840pm-9pm Big Kahuna vs. Set For Life Ball Busters vs. Impact
Timed
9pm-10pm Court 1 Court 2
9pm-920pm Sambuca vs. I'd Hit That No Name vs. Eliminators
1 Set to 21 (Cap 21)
920pm-940pm Sambuca vs. No Name I'd Hit That vs. Eliminators
1 Set to 21 (Cap 21)
940pm-10pm Sambuca vs. Eliminators I'd Hit That vs. No Names
Timed


Can't wait to get started!
-Linds

LEAGUE START DATE!

Hey Everyone,
Good news! Aldergrove Community Secondary School has allowed us access to their gym. League will be starting this Thursday, October 15, 2015 from 8-10pm. Unfortunately we will only have two courts running so I think I am going to have to run two separate time slots.  I will post a schedule ASAP so please check back before Thursday. 

Regardless, though please come early to ensure time to help set up nets, hand in paperwork, pay, warm up etc. We will do our best to start exactly on time  every week.

Also, could all the Team Captains please just touch base with me before Thursday via text or email to confirm that their team is still in and ready to play. Also, please collect all payment and waiver forms (including emergency contact info) from your team and submit them to me this week - YOU CANNOT PLAY IN THIS GYM IF THE WAIVER IS NOT SIGNED! 

We will run until the school closes for Christmas holiday, and sounds like we should also be able to start back up again in January as well but I can discuss that later.

Final topic, cost! So ACSS has kindly worked out a "no charge session" however they would greatly appreciate a donation to their volleyball athletic program in an amount that we see fit. I believe we have 8 teams so I was thinking (since this initial season is a bit short) if each team could donate $120.00, we will donate $800 to the volleyball program, and then I will purchase a couple "game balls" and maybe some score cards with the extra $ left over.

If anyone has any other suggestions/input regarding cost please let me know. I am happy to donate more if people are will to pay more for the season, but I was also thinking we could do a second larger donation in January for a "full season."

That is all for the moment, I will post a schedule soon!
-Linds




Thursday, October 1, 2015

Good News!

I have had three contacts finally get back to me regarding gym rentals.

I have heard back from the Athletic Director at Aldergrove Community Secondary School (ACSS) and she is hoping that we can get gym space in there as early as Thursday October 15, 2015, running from 8:00pm-10:30pm. I am just waiting to hear back from her to ensure there is no conflicts with any of the school sports teams and if not, then everything should be a go. That being said, we have not yet discussed length of season or cost, but I am optimistic. I will post back here as soon as I get more details.

I have also heard back from my contact at Langley Secondary School (LSS). Apparently they no longer rent out their large gym for "weekly rental" activities, however their small gym might be available (it can fit one large court or two small/crammed courts side by side). Again, I am still waiting to hear back for further details (i.e. length of season and cost, etc.), but again, I am optimistic.

I also got an email back from the coordinator for the Surrey School District. I tried to get them to just give me a list of gyms with available space on either Wednesday or Thursday evenings, but apparently I have to fill out san application form first outlining the time/dates we want, and then they will let me know if we can have it. However, it looks like the surrey school district has standard rates between schools which I think if I understood it correctly, since we're running a "non-profit" league, we can rent both the large and small gyms for about $100 per night (for 2 hrs), instead of $300 per night if we were running "for profit." 

For now I think I will wait it out until I hear back final details from ACSS and LSS. I have no idea what the gym space/size is like at ACSS, but if it's "small gym" space then I'm thinking since we have about 8 teams that maybe we can run out of both LSS and ACSS that way we aren't cramming to many people in one space (reduce the risk of injury), nor do we have to rush any of the playing time.

Anyway, if anyone has any strong objections or opinions on the matter, or any information regarding the school facilities, as usual please don't hesitate to contact me, I am all ears. And of course, please keep your team mates updated with the progress and check back again next week as I hope to have an update with much more official details. Please keep in mind, league could potentially be starting two weeks from today!

Thanks!
-Linds